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QQ. Chapter 46: Musicians

Page 1

[CHAPTER 46]
[Page 1]
MUSICIANS
The Negro is generally credited with having introduced into the Americas the banjo and the marimba. Today‟s American banjo may claim ancestry to its counterpart, the African wambee,1 a banjo-like instrument of the Shekiani tribe, and the less similar ibeka and harp of the Bakalai. 2 The marimba of the Balonda tribe is constructed on the same musical principal as the South American instrument of the same name. The Portuguese traders of Angola used the native marimba in their dances, which fact might account for its introduction and later popularity in the countries of South America.
The African, passionately fond of his folk-music and the tales and songs of his griots, called them into use at play and at labor, and his work-songs--which later became the symbol of the virility of American labor--had their origins in the jungle clearings of Africa. It was observed that in Africa
Frequently…toil is lightened, from being performed by the whole village in common, when it appears less a scene of labour than a gay festival….The village musician plays the most lively airs; the labourers keep time to his tune; and a spectator at a little distance would suppose them to be dancing instead of working.5
Many of the slaves brought with them their native music, and their masters, quick to sense the advantages to be gained from happy and contented slaves, frequently encouraged his talent. Slaves imported into Louisiana from Africa and the West Indies displayed unusual talent in the use of drum in their dances, and many of them reproduced their own native instruments and played them proficiently. Under American

The unpublished manuscript "The Negro in Louisiana" is a work begun by the Dillard (University) Project in 1942, an arm of the WPA's Federal Writer's Project. After the dissolution of the unit, Marcus Christian maintained and edited the document in hopes of eventual publication. It is reproduced here as an annotated transcript, with original typos, chapters, and paginations preserved.

Creator

Dillard Project, Federal Writer's Project

Contributors

Christian, Marcus

Notes

MSS 11

Date

Between 1942 and 1976

Type

Text;

Format

pdf;

Identifier

See 'reference url' on the menu bar for the identifier of this item.

Source

Louisiana and Special Collections Department, Earl K. Long Library, University of New Orleans

[CHAPTER 46]
[Page 1]
MUSICIANS
The Negro is generally credited with having introduced into the Americas the banjo and the marimba. Today‟s American banjo may claim ancestry to its counterpart, the African wambee,1 a banjo-like instrument of the Shekiani tribe, and the less similar ibeka and harp of the Bakalai. 2 The marimba of the Balonda tribe is constructed on the same musical principal as the South American instrument of the same name. The Portuguese traders of Angola used the native marimba in their dances, which fact might account for its introduction and later popularity in the countries of South America.
The African, passionately fond of his folk-music and the tales and songs of his griots, called them into use at play and at labor, and his work-songs--which later became the symbol of the virility of American labor--had their origins in the jungle clearings of Africa. It was observed that in Africa
Frequently…toil is lightened, from being performed by the whole village in common, when it appears less a scene of labour than a gay festival….The village musician plays the most lively airs; the labourers keep time to his tune; and a spectator at a little distance would suppose them to be dancing instead of working.5
Many of the slaves brought with them their native music, and their masters, quick to sense the advantages to be gained from happy and contented slaves, frequently encouraged his talent. Slaves imported into Louisiana from Africa and the West Indies displayed unusual talent in the use of drum in their dances, and many of them reproduced their own native instruments and played them proficiently. Under American